Heenan named top manager by WWE.com, but I side with Albano, Blassie, and Grand Wizard

Strangely enough, while I think you could easily rank Heenan as the greatest manager ever in wrestling, I might take umbrage with him being called the top WWE manager.

Don’t get me wrong – Heenan was menacing, funny, and effective as a mouthpiece for his various wrestlers. But his performances from the AWA may be even better than his WWF material.

Plus, being nostalgic as I am, I view the “holy trinity” of WWF managers as Captain Lou Albano (No. 5 on the list), the Grand Wizard (No. 7 on the list), and Classy Freddie Blassie (No. 4).

When I first started watching wrestling in 1981, these three personalities managed just about any heel of consequence in the WWF. Each had their own style with promos that was very effective, particularly Albano. If you saw him, you’ll never forget the Grand Wizard’s house show promos, which usually included a point at which the wizard said sarcastically, “McMahon…”

The WWE.com list includes these other 1980s managers:

“The Genius” Lanny Poffo (this was after he gave up his Frisbee-throwing role as mid-card wrestler)